Her Ocean
by XxoSwanGirl67
Summary: Following Annie Cresta through her journey through the Hunger Games. Answered questions. Read, review like... idk. How she falls in love with Finnick, how her family is brutally killed... and how president snow treated her oh-too-easy Hunger Game victory
1. Chapter 1

It was when I was fourteen years old. Growing up in District Four meant beautiful sunrises, like pear pink painted across a palette already beautified by colors of deep purple and orange, blue. I had come out to view it, and nobody in my family was awake yet.

That morning, the only people out were out by the harbor, far from where I was. I could see them in the distance, the fishermen with their nets and rusted Capitol equipment. One day, I knew that I would be out there with my father, fishing and serving the Capitol. It was my mother's birthday. At first, I wanted to wake up early (I did that) and cook a nice meal. But my little brother was doing that. He still had an hour or so before he needed to get up.

So, I decided to find her a nice shell or a pearl or something. I walked on the feather soft sand, inhaling the salty smell of the beach. It was humid, with a slight breeze. All I was wearing was a thin, white tank top and my favorite jean shorts. Later, I would change into the pink shirt I bought yesterday, with the flowers.

A half-an-hour or so later, I had gathered three shells that I thought would pass the test of perfectness. I let them all go, eventually, because I knew I could find better ones later on in the morning. The waves looked so comforting, so warm, so I just ran up and dived in the water.

Oh, it did feel good. Not warm, but not horribly biting cold. I swam around for a while, looking for cool shells. The sea life was blooming, and I was sure every one of them was smiling back at me.

I had come up for air when I heard it. In the distance, somebody was screaming and falling. Splash! The person fell into the water and the boat zoomed off. The person in the water flailed, unable to swim. I dived in, rushing to them, my heart pounding.

Were they dead? How could they not swim? This was District Four! For Pete's sake! I swam faster advancing so I could view them. Now, they were sinking to the ground slowly, as if moving through mud. I came up for air, and went down again.

The pressure down so deep made my ears ring. And that's when I saw him.

I couldn't believe my eyes. It was Finnick Odair! Was it? I swam closer, and then recoiled. The closeness of his face was overwhelming. The reality of it was just… oh dear. I had just seen him on the TV last week. He had won the Hunger Games that year, and he was drowning. He didn't know swimming!

His face was turning milk-white. His crown of beach blond hair floated around him, shielding his heavy-lidded eyes. I swam up to him, grabbed his hard bicep, and pulled. I pulled harder, starting to run out of air. Oh no… I pulled harder, not grunting and squealing into the water. My lungs thirsted for air.

_Come on! I'm going to die! On my Mother's birthday! _

Rooghf. I kicked off with all my might, adrenaline pumping me to go on, and surfaced. His head lolled to the side, and his lips parted ever so slightly. All in all, he was absolutely breathtaking.

I gulped in the air, coughing throaty coughs. I breathed in deeply and searched for the air, feeling reassurance. Thank you, Finnick Odair. And then I realized who I was holding. Panic crawled through me. What if he was mean and cruel and unkind? I bit my lip, and swam back to the shore.

I had no words for him. He was breathing very slightly, so he was alive. Huh, the thought of me holding the dead Finnick Odair. This star would think of me as a little girl from his hometown who could swim well. Maybe he would thank me and offer me some treats or something. I stayed, hoping he would.

While he was passed out, I looked for shells nearby. I found one with a coarse outside and beautiful deep blue inside and kept it. I examined it as he stirred. Throwing it nearby me leaned over him. He smelled like nice cloth. I noticed he wore long shorts and a long sleeved satin bright blue shirt.

His eyes blinked a few times and fluttered open. My heart thumped loudly. I felt as if I was meeting a huge celebrity, and he was. He was so handsome… I felt silly for thinking such of an older boy. I was anxious, yet so nervous.

He was a huge star, he won the Hunger Games. And I was just a girl from his town… He didn't even know me before he went into the Games. And he was so violent. What happened if his anger was that brutal as well? My fingers started to shake.

"W-What?" he asked. I smiled softly, like I saw my mother do when my brother Ed, (Edlen) was hurt.

"You drowned," I felt these words weren't very annoying or dorky. I made myself sophisticated, like older. I smiled bigger. He looked around, and then his eyes met my face. They were remarkably sea blue. I was just swimming in his eyes. They were like sea foam, so magical and fixating.

I shook my head and pushed his hair aside. He stared up at me, frozen and curious.

"My name is Annie. You're okay now. I'll leave… okay? You'll feel better." His eyes were almost shutting as I stood up and left, not turning back. He would feel better. He was a Capitol person, now. And Capitol people always would feel good. No matter what.

I forgot the shell at the beach, and I didn't want to go back and get it. So, I walked in empty handed and plucked a rose from our garden. I took a piece of paper and painted it pink and then wrote some nice words on it. I tried hard to forget Finnick Odair. He was nothing more than a Capitol boy.

And that was all he was ever going to be.

Until now…


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi there. You guys might know me from my older story, which was for Twilight, but I decided to write one for THG. I love this book, and can't wait till Catching Fire. Give this a shot, and see if you like it. I tried to capture her personality, and you will be able to compare her initial personality with her new one, after the Hunger Games. And please review! I hope you like it…_

_*I do not own most characters…**_

_Three Years Later._

Edlen, my thirteen year old younger brother, held onto my hand. We watched as Royce Linden, with his horrible cerulean curls stopping at his delicate shoulders, shuffled around the bowl. It reflected back at me, squealing: _This could be you! This you could be you! _I pushed the thought away, nervousness creeping up and down my spine. My name wasn't entered many times. Maybe two. I tried to concentrate on my brother, who was smiling up at me. He too saw the concentration in Royce Linden's eyes, the little crease in between his brow. It seemed like a very big deal for him to pick a paper. I rolled my eyes, and hoped it wasn't one of my friends…

But still. The sheet of note paper was picked, the name read.

"_Annie Cresta._"

Oh.

OH.

Somebody's name was called. Whose? Who was this "Annie Cresta"? That's how I felt. I had to tell myself that this was not just a name of a soon to be dead girl, but me. It was me. I was Annie Cresta, and they expected me to walk up there, sending myself into a slaughter house!

Faintly, I stood up and walked past Edlen. I didn't look at him. The long aisle seemed to go on forever. Applause sounded the good bye of another soul. I needed to fight though. Determination was the strongest in my soul, passionate and untamed. I could do this…Strategies came up inside my head. I looked up at the smiling face of my prep team, and then the aged face of a woman named Mags. I smiled politely, warming up. She looked fairly knowledgeable. Next to her, stood Finnick Odair.

I bit my lip, feeling a moment of being frozen. I let the anxiousness fill me up.

I didn't know if he had remembered me. The speculative look on his face showed he knew something about me. Wow. I was no longer just Annie Cresta, a quiet girl with a few friends and resident of District 4. I was Annie Cresta, a tribute to the Hunger Games. A weak pawn of the Capitol. Fire burned inside me. I could not let this happen. As small as I was… I used to be… I just… oh my. This was the end, was it?

_No! _I thought furiously. It didn't matter. I was going to win this, for my family, for the pride of District 4. I marched on to stage and accepted my congratulations and all. When the boy name was called, it was Rhoden Blake, an old boy with curly hair. He walked to stage and gave me a small smile. I smiled back. He seemed nice. Hard to kill. I wondered if my eyes were red now. For so long, I had served my family. I helped my Dad at the fisher harbor. I helped him work the pole and reeled in one of his huge fish. I actually helped the Capitol and they were going to kill me.

Moisture clouded my eyes. I forced myself not to cry. This would not be the last time I saw their faces. The crowd cheered, and I looked up smiling a plastic doll smile that was so fake it hurt.

"Let's give a warm applause to the brave young man and woman tributes from District 4! Congratulations!"

We smiled. This was going to be a joy ride. I wasn't afraid of the arena. But I was afraid of what they could do to me.

We were in different rooms, sitting in the Justice building and all. I observed the decorations, impressed by them. Very—

"ANNIE!" Edlen busted through the wooden door, tears streaming down his face. His mouth was in a frown. I choked.

He jumped on to me, hugging me tightly. He sobbed hard as my parents entered the room and closed the door behind them. None of them thought this would happen to us. Our lives so small, now so public and nerve wracking…

"DON'T! Don't go, Annie, please! Please don't go… Don't go to them…" he was a little boy now, and I held him extremely tightly. I kissed his cheek.

"Edlen, please. I-I can't do anything. Please… you need to be strong. You need to help Dad, you got it?" He nodded weakly.

"Win for us. For District Four… you're real smart." I nodded. I knew my strengths. I was going to for him.

"Annie, honey," my mother came to me. Her face was a sick shade of gray and her hair was in a mess. I hadn't ever seen her in a state like this. She was trim and proper. A woman I could admire was no doubt the woman hugging me right now: my mother. My Dad was next.

"You have helped us so much, my precious daughter. Please don't cry. Another tear will not be shed from you," he croaked. He hugged me tightly, and I felt a tear leak on to my shirt. Boy, he acted like I was dead already.

"Don't worry. A week. Okay?" They nodded, and walked out. Edlen kissed me one more time.

I thought I had no more visitors—I mostly spent my time helping my Dad, but I had some friends. I knew they couldn't see me, it would be too… horrible—when a sound came on the door. I looked at it.

Mags came in, and smiled. She wished me well and then opened the door to leave when Finnick showed up. The embarrassment tightly wounded into a ball in my stomach. He looked at me, and I stood up straighter. I was going to win, it said, my posture.

A glint was in his eyes.

He looked me up and down, and frowned. He seemed more then curious almost a little insecure then on television. I smiled weakly at the ground. This was going to be interesting.

But I knew what I had to do. Loading those heavy buckets formed muscles. My fingernails were chipped, but coarse. I knew my way. I was going to this—for my family, for everybody.


End file.
